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Target Field updates due in 2022, 2023

Target Field 2019

The Minnesota Twins and the Minnesota Ballpark Authority (MBA) agreed on a two-year plan for Target Field upgrades that will include a new outfield videoboard, new control room and new turf.

None of these ballpark components have been updated since the ballpark opened in 2010. The three upgrades will be performed over time over the next two years, presumably all in place for the 2023 season. The videoboard upgrade will cost $33 million–$7.6 million for replacing the control room, the rest for the actual videoboard–while replacing the turf will cost approximately $250,000. The Twins and the Minnesota Ballpark Authority will split the cost of replacing the videoboard, while the Twins will pick up the cost of the new turf.

The MBA will tap into its capital reserve fund to cover its share of the scoreboard upgrade.

Work on the new control room has already begun at a local firm, Alpha Video, but the actual physical replacement of the outfield videoboard won’t happen until after the 2022 season. The control-room replacement will take place at the beginning of 2022. From the Star Tribune:

MBA member James Campbell asked about the appearance of the new scoreboard, saying he was impressed this week with the one at Coors Field during the All-Star Game in Denver. “It sure looked a lot better than what we have now,” Campbell said.

[MBA Chairwoman Margaret] Anderson Kelliher said the current Target Field system “does show some wear, certainly the video board does.”

Hoy said the team hasn’t yet determined the specifications of the new board, but for fans in the ballpark the images will be noticeably crisper — especially significant when showing replays of action on the field.

The turf is nearing the end of its life expectancy, but there’s a larger reason to replace it: Target Field is hosting the NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2022, and the installation of a rink on the Target Field playing surface will pretty much trash it. So we will see the new turf for the 2022 season.

The Twins traditionally implement some sort of ballpark improvement annually.

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